Naming a Trustee: Consider the Professional Option

Naming a Trustee: Consider the Professional Option

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

June 30, 2023

Weekly I work with clients to establish testamentary trusts.  A testamentary trust essentially is a will with additional instructions that direct the court to create a trust when the person writing the will dies. Unlike other trusts, this is not created during your lifetime, but rather at your death.  They are most commonly used by clients with minor children; the trust is designed to hold and use assets until the children reach an age where they can assume control of the funds.  During that time a trustee manages the trust.  More specifically, a trustee does the following:

• Invests and manages the trust assets;
• Pays bills of the trust beneficiary;
• Maintains records of all transactions made on behalf of the beneficiary; and
• Files federal and state tax returns associated with the trust.

Many people opt to name the guardian of the child(ren) to serve as trustee.  However, in some situations naming a corporate or institutional trustee (such as a bank) might be wise.  A professional trustee offers the following:

• Neutrality – unlike the guardian of the child or family member, the professional trustee is not sitting down to a Thanksgiving meal with the trust beneficiary.  The relationship is purely professional, removing the chances of decisions being made under emotional pressure;
• Continuity - sometimes a trust is set up to benefit a child for decades.  Finding a person in your circle of family or friends to serve as trustee for many years can be daunting if not impossible.  Naming a bank or trust department increases your chances that the same entity will be managing the trust assets over the years;
• Experience - a professional trustee spends all day, every day, managing the ins and outs of trusts.  They will have years of experience and a depth of knowledge, allowing them to work with the clarity, swiftness, and precision that a layperson may lack. 

Remember that a blog is not legal advice, it is meant to spark thought and discussion.  Please consult an attorney in your state of residence for legal advice specific to your unique situation.  Thank you for reading.  Be well!

Marriage and Estate Planning: Going Beyond a Name Change

Marriage and Estate Planning: Going Beyond a Name Change

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

June 23, 2023

The author and her spouse, June 2006

June -- the month of weddings, mine included back in 2006.  Should you Google "marriage and estate planning" the results skew heavily to where and how to change your name following a marriage. From my vantage point behind the lawyer's desk, I can tell you that saying "I Do" involves much more than updating your name with the DMV, Social Security and the bank.  Or at least it should.

Probate, a word we are conditioned to dread, occurs when a person dies and an asset did not have a co-owner or named beneficiary.  Probate assets, those without a co-owner or named beneficiary, are distributed at death per state statutes or under the terms of a will if one was created.  Becoming married does not create an auto-default to an asset going to your spouse.  If, after you walk down the aisle, you want an asset to pass to your spouse, you will need to make the other person either a co-owner or named beneficiary.  The following are 10 places where you likely want to add your spouse's name:

1. The veterinarian's office -- pets are technically our property.  If you want your new spouse to have the authority to make medical decisions for your fur and feathered family members, add their name to the file;
2. Bank accounts;
3. Investment accounts;
4. Retirement accounts (both with your employer and those in IRA form);
5. Life Insurance policies;
6. Deed to real estate (condo, home, lake property);
7. Power of Attorney for Finances;
8. Power of Attorney for Healthcare;
9. Will and or Trust; and
10. Social Media accounts. 

Best wishes to all the newly minted married couples.  Remember, a blog is meant to spark thought and reflection, it is not legal advice.  Please consult with a licensed attorney in your home state for legal advice specific to your situation.  Thank you for reading, be well!

Estate Planning and the Family Tree

Estate Planning and the Family Tree

June 16, 2023

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi 

This weekend we celebrate the fathers among us, sparking thoughts of family trees that make up our villages.  Estate planning focuses our attention on future generations, the limbs of the tree to come. We ask who and/or what will follow us, which helps us decide where to give the assets we leave behind at death. Yet there is the flipside to the family tree: the question of where we came from. 

According to a New Yorker article from May 2022, more than twenty-six million people have completed a genetic ancestry test since 2012. Genealogy is now reported to be America's second most popular hobby after gardening.  As you complete or update your estate planning documents, you may want to consider including some fashion of a family tree for the loved ones handling your final affairs.  Administering an estate is more than simply completing tax filings, selling property and donating clothing.  It is often a time of reflection for those closing out a home.  If you are a Wisconsin resident, the Wisconsin Historical Society offers genealogy webinars, workshops, and classes, with discounts for Society members. 

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023

Please note that a blog is not legal advice, but rather a tool to spark thought and reflection.  It is best for you to seek legal counsel from an attorney 

A Parting Gift: 9 Things To Tell Your Personal Representative or Executor

A Parting Gift: 9 Things To Tell Your Personal Representative or Executor

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

June 9, 2023

For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.

-Benjamin Franklin

A will and a power of attorney are the basic foundational documents of an estate plan.  For those wishing to make the end-of-life paperwork as easy as possible for loved ones left behind I encourage you to roll up your sleeves and dig a bit deeper.  Here are 9 things to write in a letter to your Personal Representative (the term we use here in my home state of Wisconsin, but known as Executor elsewhere in the United States):

1. Personal data, including: date of birth, dates of marriage(s) and divorce(s); Social Security Number; educational achievements along with the institution and date awarded;
2. People's contact information -- the phone number, email, mailing address of those named in your documents, relatives, close family friends, support network (childcare, pet sitter, etc.);
3. Pet care information, including: food and medication directions, Veterinarian's office, and a list of temporary or permanent caretakers for the animal(s);
4. Professional duties you hold, including: contact information for your employer or clients if self-employed, list of your professional organizations and memberships;
5. Comprehensive list of all assets, from bank accounts to insurance policies to collectibles to real estate holdings and investment accounts;
6. Details on liabilities - who do you owe money to from a mortgage to car payments to student loans;
7. Record of active Social Media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, etc;
8. Monthly or annual subscriptions such as Netflix, Sirius XM, online newspapers, gym memberships and more; and
9. Your Professional Support Network, which includes: attorney(s), accountants, financial planner, lawn maintenance company, insurance company, etc.  

Image by M. Gustafson Gervas, 2023

For ages, back to the founding of our country, the act of organization has been recognized as a tool to increase efficiency and ease.  Remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and reflection; it is not a substitute for an attorney.  I encourage you to seek legal advice from an attorney licensed in your home state.  Thank you for reading.  Please share on social media with those who might benefit from these suggestions.  Be well!

What I've Been Reading: The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You written by Margareta Magnusson

What I've Been Reading:  The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You written by Margareta Magnusson

June 2, 2023

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

Are you one of the many Americans who have embraced the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (the act of clearing out unnecessary belongings yourself and not leaving the chore to your loved ones), which is described in a 2018 international best-seller?  If you enjoyed Margareta Magnusson’s first book, you may want to pick up her latest work, The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You.  Primarily written during the pandemic, Magnusson uses her unique style of writing to dispense words of wisdom on how to live life zealously.  She also expands on how to “death clean” in a bit more detail in this latest installment.  Specifically, at the end of the book she offers several questions loved ones can ask of an older family member that may tactfully broach the topic of what to do with all the stuff in their homes. 

Dying Without a Will

Dying Without a Will

May 26, 2023

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023 

Survey Says! According to a 2022 survey by caring.com, 67% of Americans do not have a will even after the COVID-19 pandemic increased everyone's awareness that no one's tomorrow is guaranteed. Of those surveyed who did not have a will, 40% of them cited "not having gotten around to it" as the reason they did not have an estate plan in place.

Dying without a will means you lost control over:

• Who act as your Personal Representative (that is the term we use in Wisconsin, other states use the title of Executor);
• Where your minor children and or pets will live and be cared for; and 
• What will happen to your assets.

Estate planning, the process of writing documents that say who is in charge and what happens if you are alive but too sick to act (powers of attorney) or if you die (will or trust), boils down to one simple word, control.  When you set aside the time to make these decisions and put them in a legally binding format, you take control.  If you never get around to it, then you are leaving the decision making to the court system.  

Here are 3 tips on how to prime the pump and join the minority of Americans with a will:

1. Educate yourself by reading books from the library, watching YouTube videos on the topic or attending an in-person seminar;
2. Take it bit by bit -- tackle powers of attorney first, then review beneficiary forms, and end with writing a will.  Breaking down a huge task into smaller projects is often more doable; and
3. Outsource -- hire an attorney who focuses on estate planning to draft the necessary paperwork.  Ask family and friends for a recommendation or see if your favorite CPA or financial planner has a name to share.

Remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and discussion, it is not legal advice.  Please consult with a licensed attorney in your home state for legal advice specific to your situation.  Be well and thank you for reading.  If this is helpful, consider sharing on social media. 

Estate Planning Meets Garage Sale Season

Estate Planning Meets Garage Sale Season

May 19, 2023

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

Summer is nearly upon us as Memorial Day slides into the 10-day forecast on our phones.  For those in the midwest we are (almost) certain we can move the snowblower to the back of the garage and put away our winter boots.  This is also a perfect time of year for a dose of Swedish Death Cleaning and the infamous garage sale.  As I tell my husband, "we are either going to move or die -- eventually it all has to go!"  Here are a few tips on how to embrace garage sale season for a low-energy yet high yield event that will keep your clutter under control:

1. Thoughtful Displays -- do not just toss items on a table or blanket on the grass, set them up as though they were in your home.  For example, decorate the artifical Christmas tree with ornaments and lights, or set up the never-used tent along with dishware suitable for camping.  Show the buyer an item's potential with a thoughtful display.
2. Combine Forces -- ask family or friends to add items to your sale. The more the merrier, and advertising a multi-household sale will draw in more shoppers.
3. Skip the Pricing, Make Me an Offer -- yes, skip the time and effort of pricing items and simply say "make me an offer".  This will save you a lot of time, and sometimes people offer way more than you might anticipate.
4. Coordinated Effort -- Hold your sale the same days as your annual neighborhood sale (those are big events here in the Madison area).  This increases the number of shoppers in your general area.
5. Non-profit Benefit -- going along with the "make me an offer" idea, inform your shoppers that proceeds with benefit a favorite nonprofit.  Have brouchers and information on hand about the organization.  This is a great idea when you have a ton of small items that you want to clear out and prevent from filling up a landfill.  Every penny goes to charity -- it's a great motivator.
6. Donate What Remains - under no circumstances should you bring any items back into your home when the sale ends.  Instead direct them to a nonprofit thrift store or post them for free on social media or other "freecycle" type sites.

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023, Spring/Summer Flowers

Did I miss a great tip?  If so, please leave a comment.  Estate planning is more than getting paperwork in order, it is about getting your life and possessions in a managable state.  Best of luck with cleaning and sales.  And remember, a blog is not legal advice.  It is a platform to promote thought and reflection.  Please seek legal advice in your state of residence for advice specific to your situation.